


People Watching

by colossalEgo



Category: Homestuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-21
Updated: 2011-10-21
Packaged: 2017-10-24 20:11:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/267402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/colossalEgo/pseuds/colossalEgo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dave watches people go by, reminiscing his past experiences.</p>
            </blockquote>





	People Watching

Dave sat at a café, gingerly sipping his hot coffee. Bro and he had just run out of food, and it was his turn to go shopping. He didn’t go to the grocery store right away, basking in the time spent away from his apartment. As he relished in walking the streets unsupervised, he decided to get himself a nice cup of coffee at a local café to relax. He sat outside, watching a myriad amount of strangers pass by him. He carefully inspected each and every person, wondering how different his lifestyle is compared to theirs. People-Watching was something he did once in a while, there was something soothing about it.

Spying on others wasn’t too difficult, for his shades hid his eyes quite well. There was one time, he recalled bitterly, when he did get caught. It was a group of kids around his age. They were all enjoying themselves; animatedly talking to one other about some new game (or was it a movie, he couldn’t remember). Figuring that the group wouldn’t notice him, he didn’t hide the fact that he was staring at them. A few moments passed by, one of them finally noticed that Dave was looking straight at them. One of the kids mumbled something to his friends and proceeded to walk towards Dave.

“Hey, what’re you starin’ at ya creep?” The kid tried to give of an intimidating voice, “And what’s up with these lame ass shades?”

The kid tried to flick his shades, but he twitched his head away. Dave stared at the kid, unused to people, other than Bro, talking to him. He didn’t know anyone else. “Are you a mute or somethin’?”

“Guys! Check it out! Not only was this loser spyin’ on us, he doesn’t even know how to talk!” He beckoned his friends to join him. The whole group circled him like a pack of hyenas, their laughs almost mimicking the animal perfectly. Dave couldn’t recall the words they called him; he didn’t even know what half of them were.

It wasn’t until one of the kids punched his chest, did he finally talk back with his fists. He aimed randomly at one of the kids, his blow came with a heavy force. Luckily, he just happened to hit the one who started this whole fight. Dave took in a secret pleasure as he heard the squeals coming from him. It vaguely reminded him of a pig that was about to be slaughtered. If there was one thing that Dave could be proud of, it was the fact that Bro taught him how to fight.

“Rgh! That’s it! You’ve done it now you asshole!” The whole gang of kids started to punch and kick him without any hesitation, one of them holding him strategically so he couldn’t have a chance to fight back. Dave didn’t recall any pain, nor did he remember if they took turns spitting on him. He did remember the fact that all the surrounding people just watched, not lifting a finger to help. Some were encouraging the fight, others laughing, and a select few just looking around in confusion. After they were done assaulting him, he breathed in a shaky breath and got up as if he wasn’t brutally beaten.

Bruised, bloodied, and swollen, Dave quietly said, “Is that all you got?”

The kids gulped, their adrenalin rush dying down, “Of course not, you freak. Do you have some strange fetish were you get off on people hurting you?”  
Dave’s sunglasses glinted, saying nothing back.

He rushed in and scored a direct hit on the kid’s face, swearing he heard the sound of a nose breaking. The other kids looked stupefied, unsure of what to do. Using the hesitation to his advantage, Dave tried to imitate Bro’s flash step, but it came out awkward and clunky. He sent out quick jabs at each of their vital spots, hurting them much more than they ever could. The crowd around him grew silent as they watched at Dave. It was the first time that the “People-Watcher” was the one who was being inspected. A few worried murmurs where finally escaping.

 _How can a kid move like that?_

 _Is he even human?_

Once the fight was over with, he was the only one left standing. The group of kids groaned as they laid down on the cement, writhing in pain. Dave sighed as he started to walk away. The crowd parted for him, scared of the “monster child.” He was getting tired of all the accusing stares he was getting. It didn’t get better when he got back home. Instead of worrying over him like a normal guardian, Bro used Cal to smack him upside the head.

 _You’re not ready to wield a sword if you let a few low life chumps like that beat you up._

There was another time, he recalled, where he observed two brothers. He guessed that one of them was around his age while the other was in high school. He had expected the two to start quarreling like he did with Bro.

Instead, the older brother was treating his sibling with kindness. Dave was utterly confused, and found this quite odd. Weren’t brothers supposed to fight each other all the time? The two laughed, made jokes, and played games that did not involve any sort of physical violence. As the pair of brothers passed Dave, he decided to follow them. He just couldn’t believe that family could get along so well.

While he examined the two, a wave of depression hit him. Bro didn’t act that way towards him. Never. He never offered Dave to go eat ice cream or watch a movie with him. All Bro did was stuff puppets in his face, urge him to fight, and never gave a shit about him.

He sighed as he watched the two sit on a bench, eating the snacks that they had just bought. Dave wished he could have someone like that.

He shook his head, refusing to recall anymore of that day. After all, cool kids didn’t have emotions. Cool kids can take whatever comes their way with a straight face, displaying no fear. No one would be able to hurt him then. Bro was the perfect cool kid, and Dave looked up to that. He hoped that someday he’d be as strong as Bro.

Though, on days like this, he desperately wished he had at least one friend to be there for him.


End file.
